20 Years & Counting: Vans Warped Tour 2014

Settling in for a long day of music festivities, the Vans Warped Tour made a stop in Bonner Springs, Kan. Vans Warped Tour is celebrating 20 years as the U.S. longest-running touring festival as the tour winds down. The festival features a multitude of genres: Punk, Alternative, Hip-Hop, Ska, Pop Punk, Electronica, Alternative Rock, Emo, Hardcore and more.

As with any all-day festivals, you better come prepared. It’s necessary to bring bottled water, some ibuprofen, sunscreen, a hat … and a partying attitude. Some fans provided the herbal essence that has, for some, enhanced the live concert experience. For the older crowd, spirits helped their party attitude, as they loosened their collars and let their hair down, so to speak. While some of those fans allowed the effects of their vices to mellow them out, others showed a bit of aggression. Attila provided plenty of musical angst and lyrical rebellion, which sparked a few fans to throw cups of beer at the stage.

The Vans Warped Tour experience thrives on the fans’ access to the musicians. A tent city encompassed the cement parking lot of Cricket Wireless Amphitheater. The experience featured six stages and an acoustic basement tent that was set up in the parking lot area and two stages set up in the amphitheater.

Honestly, this is a music experience that is well worth your money. Vans Warped Tour musically leans toward a younger audience, but the festival makes parents of minors welcome. They offer a free ticket to one adult chaperoning anyone under 18, as long as the minor had a purchased a ticket. While concessions never are free, water stations were set up in multiple locations in the venue. Parking: Well, there were a lot of damn cars! It certainly was not eco-friendly from that standpoint. But the tour sponsors have volunteers who help clean up the venue throughout the day. The Vans Warped Tour staff was very professional and gracious.

Ernie Ball Stage:
A Skylit Drive
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
Close Your Eyes
Courage My Love
Fit For A King
I Fight Dragons
I The Breather
Lost In Society
Me Like Bees
Mixtapes
TheCityShakeUp

About the VANS WARPED TOUR:

The VANS WARPED TOUR® is well established as America’s premiere music and lifestyle festival of the summer, breaking up-and-coming indie talent as well as both creating and showcasing major established artists since 1995. The nationally-renowned festival is the most eclectic traveling tour and features a diverse array of artists–with hotly tipped acts in every genre from punk, metal and indie to rock, hip-hop, rap, electronic, reggae and pop; as well as a variety of lifestyle attractions for its traditionally low ticket price. The tour has cemented its place in history by bringing punk rock/skate/action sports culture from the underground to the forefront of global youth culture, while at the same time helping those in need and being the first tour to consistently use groundbreaking environmental concepts every year on the road. The Warped Eco Initiatives (WEI) focus on making the tour more environmentally friendly whether it is through eco conscious catering for the artists and crew courtesy of Tada Catering or a solar-powered sound system on the Kevin Says Stage. Further, www.vanswarpedtour.com even showcases public transportation options for every tour date and carpool social media apps as well as exotic eco travel contests. For more information on the tour that Alternative Press readers voted the “Best Tour/Festival” of 2009/2010 and Rolling Stone called “America’s most successful festival” (2005) go to: www.vanswarpedtour.com. Now in its 20th year, the 42-date tour will commence June 13 in Houston, TX and end on August 3 in Denver, CO.